bend sinister

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That in heraldry, a bend sinister indicates bastardy.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2019

The shield was—Per fesse embattled, ar. and sa., three falcons, belted, countercharged—a bend sinister.

From Notes and Queries, Number 47, September 21, 1850 by Various

His descent was noble on one side, with or without the bend sinister, which he said he would never have disclaimed, had it been his, but which he did not happen to inherit. 

From Essays in Little by Lang, Andrew

There were several generations of them, and used for their arms those of Bonville with the addition of a bend sinister; they also became extinct.

From The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West by Rogers, William Henry Hamilton

All these families bear the arms described by your correspondent, but without the bend sinister.

From Notes and Queries, Number 51, October 19, 1850 by Various